Iran lawmakers urge death penalty for opposition leaders

Iranian lawmakers called Tuesday for opposition leaders to face trial and death after Monday's clash with security forces. Thousands of Iranians protested Monday in solidarity with Egypt's revolt against ousted president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile]. Pro-government legislators demanded [AP report] opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], Mehdi Karroubi [NYT profile; JURIST news archive] and former reformist president Mohammad Khatami [BBC profile] be held responsible for the protests, which resulted in one death and numerous injuries. Monday's protests in Iran were the first demonstrations since December 2009, following the disputed presidential elections [JURIST news archive] that gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [official website] a second term.

Last week, Karroubi was reportedly placed under house arrest [JURIST report], according to his website Saham News [website, in Persian]. On Thursday morning, security forces reportedly took control of the area outside of Karroubi's residence and barred all family members, except his wife, from entering. The report indicated that the arrest was related to calls by Karroubi and Mousavi for rallies in support of the recent political reform movements in Tunisia and Egypt [CFR backgrounder].

About Paper Chase

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible format.